The Past Unseen
by HowlsMovingCastle111
Summary: Howl starts to wonder how Sophie managed to get Calcifer to cook for her. When he trys to find out, once again Howl gets it a little bit wrong...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello and welcome to yet another of my fanfics! I've had this idea in my head for a while and I have finally had the time to put pen to paper (so to speak) so I will try to spill my creative juices so they form this story. Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. None of it. Zilch. Nill. Zero. Not even one character. They belong to word Master Diana Wynne Jones (RIP) and the wonderful team at Studio Ghibli. I thank them for letting me use their masterpieces in my own work.**

**Chapter 1 - Alone**

Howl was sitting at his cluttered workbench sifting through the many spell books and trinkets and other detritus that he had left there. Usually, the table would have been spotless due to the impenetrable force that was Sophie Hatter. The reason that the table (and much of the rest of the castle for that matter) had been allowed to slowly accumulate such rubbish was due to one simple explanation. Sophie wasn't there.

Sophie had gone to spend a week with her sisters, plus to put her mother's mind at rest as she wasn't too keen on the idea of her daughter spending and living with a man when they weren't even married. Although Sophie had argued to her mother about this subject for a considerable time, they had eventually come to the decision where they would compensate; meaning Sophie should spend some time with the family, away from Howl.

Howl wasn't very happy with the idea at first. He still wasn't happy with the arrangement at present, but as he had no chance of changing Honey's mind he just had to sit pretty and busy himself while Sophie was gone. Which he had tried to do at first, but wizard business was very slow at the moment leaving Howl with little to nothing to do. Also, now that Calcifer was free to do and go as he pleased and Markl kept going into market Chipping, Howl was left with nobody to talk to. This displeased him greatly as everyone knew him to be one who liked to be the centre of attention.

This time alone did give him time to think deeply though. At first his thoughts were about how unfair his life was. 'Why does Sophie's mother object to me? What did I do?' and 'How come Markl gets to go out and have fun? Calcifer just ups and leaves whenever he wants. Some friend he is.'

After a day of moping about the castle trying furiously to keep himself busy/entertained, hence the mess, his thoughts of anger changed to those of upset and, well... Sophie.

His missed her starlight coloured hair and the way it glistened and shined, the ways she smiled whenever she saw him and made his heart flutter uncontrollably, her busybody attitude and the fact she was never short of something to clean or tidy and how she would always get her way either through her beauty and politeness or through her cold stare that could freeze water. She had even bullied Calcifer, the self-proclaimed 'Scary and powerful' fire demon into cooking for her. Howl would have loved to be there to have seen that.

This then lead to another trail of thoughts. What could she have said to make Calcifer do as she had said? This question had been niggling at his head for some time now and it had seriously peaked his curiosity. He had already asked Calcifer but he refused, it either being a secret or he was too embarrassed to admit it. After this dead end he went back to his thinking web.

He wondered if he could find out.

No, he would have had to have been there.

Could he be there?

Once again, no. That could lead to all sorts of problems. (**A/N: Wibbley Wobbley Timey Wimey Stuff. LOL I love Dr WhoJ)**

If he couldn't be there at the time maybe his conscience could!

A mischievous grin crept onto his face. He just had to find a spell which meant he could be in other people's memories but be oblivious to the people in it. It just so happens that Howl knew a spell that did just that. It was in one of those books... red... leather...beaten up...

The floor was littered with books that fit his description, but Howl carried on unperturbed. He was a man on a mission.

Mission _Impossible_.

Howl didn't know the meaning of the word.

**A/N: So Howls got a plan. Hopefully it will go to plan. But where would the fun be in that? *grin* don't get annoyed if I switch between book and film during this story, it's just that some bits fit in better than others. Also I am sorry for using Dr Who quote. I don't own it but it can't stop me from loving it! WHOVIAN ALL THE WAY! Anyhow umm, please review, I like to talk to people and may even reply to you lovely people if I have time. Stay tuned for chapter 2.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm back! I hope you like this as it is when the story really starts. Recap- Howls looking for a spell so he can travel back in time to listen to a conversation. Sort of show how bored Howl is but do not fear! Something's going to go wrong. Come on, it's Howl. Did you really think it was going to be simple?**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it. *depressed sigh***

**Chapter 2 – The Plan - doesn't go to plan**

After a lot of searching and preparing and checking and reading and a small tea break in the middle of it all Howl had everything he needed.

Shut in his room to prevent any disturbances, he folded up the instructions and placed them in his pocket. Standing in the middle of a chalk circle, lifted up a small bottle of a liquid he had concocted and poured 10 drops of it onto the floor, then said "_Et Ponam Oculos Retro Praeteriti Temporis Iterus"*_

He closed his eyes as a thought came into his head. Would Sophie mind if he did this? His body was submerged into darkness.

When he awoke he found himself lying, not on his bedroom floor, but in...

"Market Chipping!?" Howl exclaimed. "How did I end up here? It's miles away from the castle; I'll never make it there in time." Disappointed at his failure, he stood up only to realize just how busy Market Chipping was. He was about to move out of the way when he remembered that nobody should be able to see or feel him. This theory was proved correct as one of the busy shoppers walked straight through Howl's thin body. It made him shudder. "It's as like I'm a ghost" he said out loud. Deciding that he had a while before the spell wore off; he went for a wonder down the street.

He stopped after a while. The shops were different he noticed. Then he noticed that the style of clothing was slightly different too. Older. He decided to try and find a newspaper or something, like in the time travel films he had watched as a kid growing up in Wales.**(A/N: Dr Who once again... I apologize)**

He stopped at a building that caught his eye. It was newly painted in bright, bold colours. The sign above the door read in gold lettering 'Hatters'. Peering through the window he did not see Sophie but the back of a man working hard at something on his workbench.

"Damnation! I have gone back much too far. I must have done the spell wrong or something..."

He searched through his pocket and pulled out the folded piece of paper which he studied for a minute or two. "Nope, I followed it to the letter." Confused by the situation he found himself in, he once again glanced into the hat shop window. There was something about that man that was familiar. The man however was facing the other way so Howl couldn't see his face.

"I shall just have to go in" he said, the local paper lying on the man's desk caught his eye.

Howl walked up to the front door and reached for the handle. His hand went straight through it, then the door and as Howl overbalanced his whole body fell through too. He cried out as he landed on the shop floor with a thud. He huffed. He would have to remember he would just move through things. Sliding his whole body through the door, he stood up and dusted himself off. Thank God nobody saw that.

Walking cautiously up to the table where the unknown man was sat, Howl looked over his shoulder to read the date from the newspaper.

"This was about... 14 years ago. Oh."

It seemed that Howl was off. Very off. But why? He had done the spell perfectly, but why here, why now?

He stopped and stared in astonishment as a 5 year old girl came bounding. He would know those deep hazel eyes anywhere.

"Hello Daddy!"

"Hello Sophie dear!"

**A/N: Oh dear. Howl got it wrong again... He will be able to see the past, just a little bit more than he had intended. **

**Big thanks to my first reviewer – ThaliaTrisEllie. I really appreciate your support!**

***This is latin for: ****_Turn back the time so I can see the past once more_****. I don't actually know latin, this is off google translate.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: And I'm back. Did ya miss me? Or am I just talking to myself... wouldn't be the first time. Hrm, well this chapter 3 making this the longest fan fic I have ever done so far. So what if I've only done two in the past? It's an achievement and one I will celebrate. Well one with the story. Please review. I might mention you next timeJ**

**Disclaimer: Don't own the characters. Don't own the song 'when you wish apon a star' either. That belongs to Disney**

Howl looked at the young girl in absolute surprise. Now he could see the man's face it was clear it was Sophie's father, they shared the same soft brown eyes, the dark brown hair and the calm attitude.

"What are you doing here; I thought your mother went out shopping?" his face plastered with sudden confusion.

"She went shopping with Auntie Susan and Auntie Julia" she then pouted, which Howl, and Sophie's father for that matter, seemed to find adorable. "They spend hours looking at dresses, it's boring. And Auntie Susan and Julia treat me like I'm a baby!"

"You still are! Your only 5" he replied with a chuckle. Sophie crossed her arms in disapproval. Howl let out a small laugh. Stubborn as ever! Sophie's father however, being experienced in dealing with one of Sophie's tantrums, simply turned on his stool to face her and gently tapped his lap. Howl watched as all traces of anger melted from Sophie's face as she eagerly bounded up to her father, who lifted her onto his lap.

He lifted up a plain straw hat and put it on the desk in front of Sophie's face.

"How about I make you one?" he asked.

"Really!?" she replied, grinning from ear to ear.

He smiled a soft, loving smile. "Which ribbon do you want?"

Howl watched for what felt like hours, just watching how the two worked together. This man whom Sophie was so close to, but Howl wondered why she never talked about him. He knew that Sophie had become very uncomfortable when he brought up her parents in conversations before, so he decided to work around the subject as he hated to see Sophie distressed.

Lost in his thought, it took Howl a while to realize that the two of them had finished the hat.

"Are you sure you don't want to add some flowers or something to it?" Sophie's father enquired.

"No, I like it the way it is." Sophie replied simply.

The hat was straw, with a dark pink ribbon around it. The only decorations on the hat being three round pink beads**(A/N: Sound familiar to anyone *Hint* it's the hat she wears in the films. I was thinking it would have to be important to her if she always wore it)**. Sophie's father picked up the hat and placed it gently on her head and stroked her cheek with his finger. "Come on love! You can help me with dinner. Let's surprise your mother when she gets back"

So father and daughter went of hand in hand, off to the kitchen.

Howl watched in awe as his future (**shall we say**) girlfriend walked off with her father. Once he snapped out of his trance like state he realized he had a problem. He didn't know how long he had here and to be quite honest he was more than a little bit curious about Sophie's past. He needed a way to speed up time in Sophie's past so he could see more of it.

"Hrm... what would be a traditional way of doing it?" he asked himself. "Think, think, think... KEY WORDS! Yes but this was a spell gone wrong so there is no guarantee it will be one... A phrase? Well, I have no idea what it would be and there is really no point guessing, I'd be here forever. Oh why didn't I look it up?!" He threw his arms down to his sides in anger resulting in a loud slapping sound to echo through the house. He winced at the pain his outburst had caused. His eyes were drawn up to see that the room around him was evaporating and forming into a different room.

"Yes! That is why I am the best wizard in the WHOLE of Ingary! Perhaps even the world" he shouted with an extremely smug grin on his face. The room he was now in was a reasonable size and it was- well- clean. There was a small sized bed in the corner of the room next to a window overlooking the train tracks below. At that exact moment Howl looked out the window, a train came whizzing past the window blasting clouds of smoke up into air. He jumped back with a start and once again, tripped. Landing solidly on his backside.

"Oww"

He heard a rustling behind him. Glancing in that direction, he realized that it was little Sophie, putting numerous toys into a chest, carefully and in an order so that they fit in place perfectly.

The bedroom door creaked open and Sophie looked panicked, until she saw it was her father once again and she just smiled.

"Sophie, you should have been in bed ages ago! Honey will kill me if she finds out your still awake."

"But papa! I had to put away my toys. Lettie stood on one last time I left them out." Sophie argued.

Her father let out a low chuckle. "Are you ready for bed?"

"Yes"

"Show me your hands"

Sophie lifted her hands up to his face. "Very good, nice and clean. Teeth?"

Sophie smiled showing all her teeth. "Good. Now, into bed" he said as he pointed in that direction. Sophie ran to her bed and jumped onto it before lying down. Her father tucked her in and tenderly kissed the top of her head.

"_When you wish upon a star_

_Makes no difference who you are_

_Anything your heart desires_

_Will come to you..."_

As Sophie's father continued the song, her eyelids slowly fluttered closed.

"Goodnight sweetheart"

**A/N: Well I hope you are enjoying the story so far. I know that they probably don't have Disney in Ingary, but I had it in my head for some reason and I thought it would be nice to add it in. This is also the longest chapter so far. Sorry they are quite short, I am trying to make them longer.**

**Big thanks to James Birdsong and beth for reviewing for the last chapter. I really appreciate your support. So please review and I might mention you in the next chapter unless you don't want me to. Bye! **


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